Fortress (4)

Pagan Temple (1)

Other (1)

Saint Stephen's monastery lies about 15 km west of Joulfa in the eastern part of Iran's Azerbaijan province. Geographically it lies in a lateral valley formed by the Araxes River whose deep gorge joins the Nakhichevan and Joulfa plains to create a natural boundary with the Azerbaijan Republic. Historically however the monastery belonged to the Armenian region of Nakhichevan even though this, which lay almost entirely on the other side of the river, was during some periods attributed to the Siounik region.